Conventional technology constituting background to certain embodiments of the present invention is described in the following publications inter alia:
Microsoft Windows 8 offers gesture-based passwords, set up e.g. by “choosing a photo from one's Picture Library folder and drawing three points on the image. The system accepts taps, lines and circles. Windows 8 subdivides the image into a 100×100 grid and stores the input points as grid coordinates”. This feature was apparently proposed because “tracing a pattern on a familiar photograph is fun”. However, researchers have complained that Microsoft's picture gesture authentication (PGA) is not secure, e.g. because users don't select points on their images randomly; instead they strongly tend to pick points such as eyes or certain objects. The resulting passwords enjoy less variability than randomly generated passwords hence are easier to crack. It has been suggested that the PGA be improved by providing “a picture-password-strength meter, similar to systems that prevent people from choosing weak text-based passwords”.
The disclosures of all publications and patent documents mentioned in the specification, and of the publications and patent documents cited therein directly or indirectly, are hereby incorporated by reference. Materiality of such publications and patent documents to patentability is not conceded.